Some things only come once every four years, such as the Olympics, the World Cup, and a presidential election. However for some, their birthday also only comes once every four years. 

Sophomore, Emma Boyd, is one of those people with a leap year birthday.

Every four years there is an extra day added to the February month to keep the calendar in alignment with Earth’s revolutions. This is because it actually takes 365.243 days to make it around the sun, thus why we have a leap year. 

Only 0.07% of the population are leap year babies, sometimes called ‘leaplings,’ because they have a Feb 29 birthday.

“She was born a week late, and only 55 minutes into Feb 29,” Emma’s mom, Dallastown English Teacher, Mrs.Boyd, said. 

On her fourth birthday, the first time she got to celebrate on her actual birthday, Mrs. Boyd took off work and turned the entire house into under the sea themed.

This year is a leap year, meaning Boyd will get to celebrate her sixteenth birthday on the actual date. Even though she doesn’t have any special plans yet for this year, in the past she has had bigger parties on leap years. 

Typically she celebrates on Feb 28 because it is in the same month, however, some leap year babies celebrate on March 1, or only every four years.

The chances of being born on Feb. 29 are one out of 1,461, making it extremely unique. 

“The best part would be it only comes every four years, and I don’t share my birthday with many other people,” Boyd said, as the only student with a leap year birthday here at Dallastown high school.

In addition, some stores have some extra perks for leap year birthdays such as Olive Garden, Hard Rock Cafe, and Pizza Hut. 

However, one thing she doesn’t always like is the reoccurring joke that comes along with this uncommon birthday.

“There are constant comments about how old I really am. Even though I am turning sixteen, some people say I am only four,” Boyd said.

This will be only the fourth time Boyd gets to celebrate on her actual birthday. 

Other things that come up troublesome for leap year babies include, entering their birthday on websites, official documents, and renewing ID’s. 

All in all, having a leap year birthday definitely makes Emma Boyd unique, and even though she doesn’t have any big plans yet, it will be a special birthday for her sweet sixteen.